Back in 1866 , a New York theater producer was juggle two display : One was a melodrama about man who ’d deal his soul to thedeviland then repent it ( as people are wo nt to do ) . The other was a revue featuring a troupe of sexy — for the 19th century — French dancer . The theatre of operations he ’d booked for the dancer was damaged in a fire . Not throw anywhere else to hold that 2nd show , he decided to comprise the dancers in the melodrama .
The answer was the firstBroadway musical . By that we mean , a live play featuring medicine and a " book " — the narration that incite the narrative forward and keep the production from being just a collection of songs . That first musical was called " The Black Crook " and was enormously popular — it tour for decades and was even revived in 2016 [ source : Viagas ] .
Since then , there have been musical on just about every topic under the sunshine , whether it ’s a group of cute orphan ( " Annie " ) , some foul - mouthed puppets ( " Avenue Q " ) or the wife of an Argentinian dictator ( " Evita " ) . Not all musical originate on Broadway , but the most iconic have spent some meter there . Broadway , of course , is the famous district in Manhattan cross 41st to 53rd street ( between Sixth and 9th avenues ) , with 40 house to its credit . Ironically , only four of these actually have Broadway addresses . Broadway is big commercial enterprise for NYC , too , selling more than 13 million tickets and put in more than $ 16 billion into New York ’s economic system during 2017 [ germ : Broadway League ] .
The tilt of impactful musicals is enormous but the 10 we ’ve chosen to feature tolerate out as exceptionally innovative . Here they are in chronological order , using the date of their Broadway debuts .
10: ‘Show Boat’ (1927)
Based on a novel of the same name , " Show Boat " was the first production where songs were publish to equip the story , as defend to just being added in . Set in late-19th 100 Mississippi , the play was produced by Oscar Hammerstein ( who wrote the al-Qur’an and medicine ) and Jerome Kern .
" What Oscar clear did , " enounce Broadway composer Stephen Sondheimin an NPR audience , " was to take light opera principles and we d them to American melodious comedy , say , vocal and negotiation intermixed that would tell a story and tell a storey of some emotional truth and realism . "
Although " Show Boat " featured a beautiful grade , as well as stunning choreography and set , the musical comedy take on dark and grown - up dependent topic , likealcoholism , gambling and backwash . In fact , it was one of the very first musical to have an integrate casting [ source : Lunden ] .
Possibly well - known for the breakout birdsong , " Old Man River , " it is at its core a tale of honey and unconditional friendship of performers aboard the riverboat " Cotton Blossom . " One of the central characters , Julie , is give up off the boat when it is detect that she is of miscellaneous - backwash ( she narrowly avoids being arrested for the insult of her existence ) . Although bad habit take a major toll on the character , they also experience redemption and pardon .
9: ‘Oklahoma!’ (1943)
With World War II in full swing in 1943 , the world had a mint to occupy about . " Oklahoma ! " offer some much - necessitate succour , but this light - hearted show also took Broadway musicals into totally new territory . Everything about the output prompt the report forward , rather than make gratuitous song - and - terpsichore breaks as was the common pattern for musical comedy . or else , the dancing choreography , euphony and words give insight into each character ’s personality .
free-base on a 1931 play entitle " Green Grow the Lilacs , " the musical is set in turn - of - the-20th hundred – you guessed it – Oklahoma . It also marks the first collaboration of the fabled Broadway team Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein . Hammerstein wrote the lyrics first and then turn over them over to Rodgers who composed the euphony . The span actually had difficulty raising money to fund the product , since they had n’t function together before and Hammerstein was in the midst of a important winner rut .
But the show struck a major chord with audiences , despite its emphatically un - aphrodisiac setting ( middle America farmland , anyone ? ) So pop was the sexual conquest , which features now - unerasable classics like " Oh , What a Beautiful Morning , " and " Surrey With the Fringe on Top , " that it inspired the now - common practice of transcription albums perform by the original cast . The show ’s running also shattered all existing Broadway book of the day , lasting for five days and nine months [ source : Malet , Kenrick ] .
8: ‘West Side Story’ (1957)
This show reinterprets Shakespeare ’s " Romeo and Juliet " for 1950s Manhattan . It follow the poor , ominous - fat love story of Tony and Maria , incorporating blockbuster singing and dance . The star - crossed lovers came from all different ethnic backgrounds : Maria , a Puerto Rican immigrant , is forbidden to sleep with Tony , an American of Polish extraction . The musical also delve into the social issues of the fourth dimension , like work party furiousness , racism and even police preconception — issues that still concern Americans today .
Brilliantly indite by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim , and directed by Jerome Robbins , " West Side Story " originally was given mixed decisive reviews , incredibly taking home base only two Tony Awards ( for choreography and set intent ) in 1958 . But after the movie version starringNatalie Wooddebuted in 1961 , the tide turned . The motion-picture show won 10 Academy Awards , include the Oscar for Best Picture , and the melodic was repair on Broadway as a result and still tour today [ informant : History.com ] .
One criticism of the original play and movie was that most of the Latin characters were played by whites . The 2009 Broadway revitalisation not only remedied that , but also translated much of the talks into Spanish . The person enlist to do this was none other than Lin - Manuel Miranda , who croak on to make another show on our listing [ source : Pilkington ] .
7: ‘Cabaret’ (1966)
Before " Cabaret , " even musical theater that feature fairly grownup subject affair did so in a syndicate - friendly way . But this show took all the tawdriness and glamour of Hollywood and mashed it up with an European prowess house feel . It was this pure tone and strain that make one criticto call ita " musical for mass who do n’t particularly like musicals . "
Set in pre - worldwide War II Berlin , the melodic tackles some passably toilsome topics , like Nazism , anti - Semitism andbisexuality , while also incorporating a erotic love story of kind . The play on which the musical theater is based is partly inspired by genuine events ( as well as some short story by Christopher Isherwood ) , making it very relatable to the late 1960s audience in the midst of yet another state of war . It won eight Tony awards .
The film adaptation would go on to make a massive star out of Liza Minnelli , who played the lead role of cabaret singer Sally Bowles . Ironically , Minnelli was rejected for the Broadway role because the casting experts believe her to be too talented to act as the part of a so - so performing artist . The photographic film go on to win eight Academy awards and cement the show ’s place in melodious story [ source : Tropiano ] .
6: ‘Hair’ (1968)
Even if you do n’t bonk much about " Hair , " ( known also by its full statute title of " Hair : The American Tribal Love - Rock Musical , " ) you in all probability know that it features anudescene . But " Hair " introduced more than nakedness to the Great White Way . It was the first rock melodic to bask mainstream Broadway success . Songs from the show , including " Aquarius " and " Good Morning , Starshine " even made it to the pop music charts , something that ’s still rare for musicals [ source : chronicle ] . So successful was the sound and feel of " Hair " that it paved the way for future rock musical theater like " Jesus Christ Superstar " and " The Rocky Horror Picture Show . "
" Hair"broke all kinds of rules with its explicit public lecture about sex , drug , wash and theVietnam War . During an era when blacks were not seen much in major play , one - third of the cast was African - American . The musical comedy , which was short on patch , but long on tunes , featured a group of hippies living in New York City during the Vietnam War . One of the group must settle whether to join the army or refuse to go to war . The 20 - 2d aspect where the original cast uncase was only possible because show writer James Rado found a metropolis ordination put forward that nudity was OK as long as " as long as the histrion did n’t move " he say in an interview with Broadway Buzz [ source : Henderson ] .
5: ‘Cats’ (1981)
Conceived by now - famed British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber , " Cats " was implausibly inspire by a book of account of poems by T.S. Eliot , shout " Old Possum ’s Book Of Practical Cats . " The musical itself tell the narration of a omnium-gatherum collection of junkyardfelineswho emerge one nighttime per year for the Jellicle Ball , during which they spill the beans their story to their leader , who pick out one to " ascend to The Heaviside Layer and be born-again into a whole new Jellicle sprightliness " [ source : purge the Musical ] .
Now , Broadway was used to some somewhat wacky ideas by this time , but turning cat poetry into a major musical theater was encounter with serious scepticism . However , the pushback Webber faced during development and initial production ( he even had to take out a second mortgage on his home to finance the show ) wither quickly with the success of breakout song , " Memory . " Arguably , " Cats " was Broadway ’s first blockbuster musical — complete with over - the - top sets and costume and devoted fans — which paved the style for others like " Les Misérables " and " Miss Saigon " to have enormous political campaign .
vital reception was in spades mixed . But in the remainder , it did n’t matter . The show play on Broadway for 18 years , close in 2000 after 7,485 performance . Once the record - holder for longest rivulet , it was eventually outgo by another Webber hit , 1988 ’s " Phantom of the Opera , " which was still play on Broadway in January 2018 [ sources : Playbill , Biography ] .
4: ‘Rent’ (1996)
You might call this one , the " anti - Cats " musical . Drawing on his memories of his first apartment in New York — with rotting floorboards , no heat and a exhibitor in the kitchen — and the supporter he ’d made then , author Jonathan Larson create the musical " Rent . " Based on the Puccini opera house " La Bohéme , " " Rent " tells the story of a group of contend artist , and while it ’s signify to captivate the passion and love often associate with the Bohemian lifestyle , it also illustrate the dire aspects of being a " starving creative person , " so to speak [ source : Gioia ] .
The re - imagining of the notable opera house takes it from TB - riddled Paris to the East Village in New York City , at a time whenAIDSwas causing much distress . It depict love and mania in spite of progressive , incurable illness . The musical , which dispensed with many Broadway staples , like dimming the light and lead off with an preliminary , break down on to win aPulitzer Prizefor play . It was only the seventh melodious ever to make the distinction . Sadly though , Larson never get to grip his Pulitzer , or even see the show in all its halo . The melodic genius , who fought for years to see his yield on Broadway , died of an aortal aneurism at the age of 35 in 1996 , just hours before show previews start out [ rootage : Viagas ] .
3: ‘Mamma Mia!’ (2001)
Some of these musicals on our list have been downright gloomy , so it ’s not surprising that " Mamma Mia ! " was welcomed with capable arm , aid to kick - begin an solely new genre , the jukebox melodious ( a musical feature well - established song , usually from a illustrious pop vocalizer or group ) [ informant : Ellen ] . Not only is the game full of whimsy — a girl tries to figure out which of three military personnel is her biologic don , amid much singing and terpsichore , naturally — " Mamma Mia ! " is also set up to the music of darling ' 70s group , ABBA . call like " Dancing Queen " and " Take a Chance on Me " serve to create a nostalgic yield for disco - lovers of the past , while also introducing the scotch to an entirely newfangled coevals [ source : Broadway in Chicago ] .
So successful was the Broadway run , that " Mamma Mia ! " became a major gesture picture in 2008 starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried . It has since inspired a number of other nickelodeon musicals , like " Jersey Boys " ( featuring the medicine of the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons ) , " Movin ' Out " ( songs good manners of Billy Joel ) and " Motown : The Musical " ( no account postulate , hopefully ) .
2: ‘Avenue Q’ (2003)
Do n’t permit the puppets fool you — " Avenue Q " is not a musical meant for kids … or even tight-laced adults . The show unapologetically handles any issue of ripe themes , like internet pornography , sex and alcoholic drink use . In fact , it is often account as " Sesame Street " meets " South Park , " the long - running adult toon show featuring afoul - mouthed elementary school - aged children [ source : Osborne ] . Indeed , some of the original " Avenue Q " cast members play at " Sesame Street " and some of the puppets are take - offs of well - known " Sesame Street " characters .
More than one-half of the cast member are puppets operated by seeable puppeteers . perplex issue is the fact that the actor voicing the puppet may not be the one holding it — and different puppeteer may operate the same puppet in different scenes . The show ’s success is said to have laid the groundwork for the blockbuster Tony Award - winning production , " The Book of Mormon , " created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker , the hilarious , but potty - mouthed guys behind " South Park . " The beauty of both musicals is that they push the boundaries of the touchstone , respectable Broadway show , and can likely be credited for enticing many playgoer who probably would n’t have bothered to otherwise fill up field of operations seats .
1: ‘Hamilton’ (2015)
need to see " Hamilton " ? Get in line . Literally . The wildly hit show , which opened in 2015 , sold out its initial running , and its popularity continues today . " Hamilton " is the unbelievable marriage of old - school American history with rap / hip - hops medicine . The brainchild of Jehovah and co - star Lin - Manuel Miranda , " Hamilton " uses a multi - ethnic cast to rap its way through some true tales of Revolutionary War - era America , all the while limn the plant Fathers as challenging , skirt - chasing OGs [ source : Kelley ] .
The show was inspired by Miranda ’s use of the life history , " Alexander Hamilton , " in which he clear get a line a man full of ego , ambition and natural endowment . Thus , the concept for the show was born , but Miranda modernized it with a score that is so very current . It includes Beyoncé - way ballads and a revision of a Notorious B.I.G. song , as well as references to pelvis - hop legends like Grandmaster Flash . The show goes all " 8 Mile " on us with cabinet meetings that discuss ho-hum political stuff like federalism in on-key rap struggle fashion [ beginning : Rosen ] . " Hamilton " experience a record - setting 16 Tony nomination and won 11 , include good musical , a Grammy for best melodious field album and the 2016 Pulitzer prize for drama .
With its premium nates going for around $ 900 each , " Hamilton " helped give Broadway its highest - gross season in chronicle in 2017 [ source : Seymour ] . And if the show ’s popularity continues as it is now , that stat ’s likely to be surpassed .
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Writing this story was as if the mothership was calling me home . A lifelong lover of terpsichore and euphony , I develop up watch musicals like " Bye Bye Birdie , " " Guys and Dolls , " and " Grease " on goggle box , doing my best to con the score and choreography . I was in the end able-bodied to make it up to the real Broadway when the show " Spamalot , " opened in 2005 , starring David Hyde Pierce , Tim Curry and the uncomparable Hank Azaria . Because as much as I love good former - fashioned show tunes , I love Monty Python more .
